It’s not uncommon to live in Los Angeles and still feel like a tourist. The author and seminal California-commentator Carey McWilliams remarked that it took seven years of living in Los Angeles before he no longer felt in exile, and the city has struggled with a history of atomization and... View full entry »

The Courtyard House Plug-in is a modular home that was created by People’s Architecture Office to respond to the need of Beijing’s historic neighborhoods for modern facilities. [...]

This sort of living solution comes in handy when renovating old protected buildings and presents an alternative to tearing them down. “Houses tend to degrade when they’re vacant and unkempt,” says Shen, so plug-ins may help keep places like Hutongs alive despite their beat up look.
— popupcity.net

The Finnish Committee for the Restoration of the Viipuri Library with the Central City Alvar Aalto Library in Vyborg recently won the 2014 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize for restoring Alvar Aalto's historic Viipuri Library in Vyborg, Russia. Established in 2008, the prize is awarded biennially for an innovative architectural or design solution that has preserved or enhanced a modern landmark or group of landmarks.
— bustler.net

The biennial Knoll Prize will be presented at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City on December 1, followed by a free public lecture from the winners. The prize includes a cash award of $10,000 and a limited edition Mies van der Rohe-designed Barcelona Chair from Knoll.The Viipuri Library, c... View full entry »

The Architectural League of New York hosted another successful Beaux Arts Ball this year at Weylin B. Seymour's in Williamsburg, New York this past Saturday night. In spirit of the ball's 2014 theme "Craft", eight architects and designers collaborated with Nuit Blanche New York in creating digital... View full entry »

The Architectural League of New York's Beaux Arts Ball 2014: Craft on September 20 is coming up! Tickets to the festive event are currently on sale, but guess what: Archinect is giving away two pairs of tickets to two lucky readers! (two tickets for each winner)TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: In the... View full entry »

Built in 28BC as a suitably glorious tomb for Augustus and his relatives, with pink granite obelisks, golden urns and a bronze statue of the emperor on top, it has suffered innumerable indignities ever since the sack of Rome.

Now, fenced off and often used as a dumping site for litter, and even as an unofficial public lavatory, it goes almost unnoticed by the diners who crowd into the restaurants of the square around it.
— theguardian.com

Previously: Saudi royal family could pay for restoration of Roman monuments View full entry »

"The people of Glasgow and many people far beyond were horrified when a few weeks ago fire ripped through the Art School, gutting its priceless library.

The UK government has already made a £5m contribution to the Mackintosh Appeal to help ensure that the building is restored to its former glory.

And we are today making an additional £5m contribution to support the School's new Graduate and Research Centre." — UK Chancellor George Osborne
— bbc.com

This past May, a fire destroyed much of the historic Mackintosh library at the Glasgow School of Art, a modern masterpiece by Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Now, as part of an increase in the UK's funding of Glasgow's life sciences, business and arts sectors, the School has the... View full entry »

This report explores the historical castles and fortresses in Saudi Arabia’s al-Medina Al-Munawwarah, the Islamic faith’s second holy city. Al-Medina holds Prophet Mohammad’s Mosque and is 450 kilometers north of Makkah. Al Arabiya’s correspondent Khamis Al-Zahrani went on a mission to explore the city and discussed how urban expansions are posing a threat to its unique architecture.
— Al-Arabiya

Although it can't compare to experiencing their grandeur in real life, Movoto gives a snapshot of 35 of the world's most recognized palaces in one interactive infographic. The Movoto team created the graphic and focused on analyzing palaces to catch a glimpse of the power, wealth, the rich... View full entry »

In the latest Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA) Annual Awards, Aedas was no doubt victorious once again with two preservation/renewal projects: "Art Community": Revitalisation Project in Wan Chai, Hong Kong and Center 66 in Wuxi, China. As the highest architectural awards program in Hong Kong, the HKIA Awards recognizes outstanding architecture designed by HKIA members.
— bustler.net

Aedas once again won the highest honor, Medal of the Year, in addition to the Special Architectural Award in Heritage + Adaptive Reuse for the Revitalisation Project.Here's a glimpse of the project, which preserved and revived an early 20th-century shophouse building into a public space for arts... View full entry »

The Philadelphia Museum of Art will soon debut Making a Classic Modern: Frank Gehry’s Master Plan for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, an exhibition showcasing the first images of Frank Gehry's master plan to renovate the museum. The exhibition will also feature large-scale models, site plans, sections, and renderings. The exhibition opens July 1 through September 1 at the Dorrance Galleries.
— bustler.net

After PMA selected Gehry Partners -- who is working with OLIN -- in 2006 to design the multi-phased plan for the landmark, the core phase focuses on reorganizing and expanding the building's interior, adding more than 169,000 square feet of space. The additional space will allow the Museum to... View full entry »

I have been trying trying to understand what makes historic places special to so many of us. Part of it is that they are relatively rare in the United States, I guess. For several decades our newer everyday architecture – our subdivisions, strip malls, office buildings – has been simultaneously bland and deadening in its consistency. [...]

But I also think there may be something deeper going on. We gravitate to older places because they ground us in space and time.
— huffingtonpost.com

Preserving the rich history of an iconic site while modernizing any aspect of its design is always a tricky feat. For MVRDV, one of their latest competition wins is redeveloping the urban plan of the historic Serp & Molot (Hammer & Sickle) Factory...In the two-stage competition, the winning team was chosen out of a shortlist with LDA Design (UK), Ateliers lion Associés (France), Mega Project (Russia), and De Architecten Cie. (Netherlands).
— bustler.net

Here's a glimpse of the winning proposal:The project, which has a total investment estimated at 180 billion Rouble, is expected to be complete in 2021.Find out more on Bustler. View full entry »

A training barracks used by Roman gladiators and the 2,000-year-old mausoleum of the Emperor Augustus could be restored with money from the Saudi royal family, in the latest effort by Italy to secure funding for its crumbling cultural heritage.

In a deal brokered by Ignazio Marino, the mayor of Rome, the Saudi royals are to provide millions of euros to pay for the restoration of some of the capital's neglected monuments.
— telegraph.co.uk

Related: Greece protests over government plans to sell off historic national buildings View full entry »

The upcoming "Palaces for the People: Guastavino and the Art of Structural Tile" exhibition will showcase the works of Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino and his son Rafael Jr. that helped shape the architectural identity of New York City. Opening at the Museum of the City of New York on March... View full entry »